Midmarket CIOs: Fundamentally Essential

For midmarket CIOs, strategy usually takes a back seat to keeping information systems and infrastructure operational. But midtier companiesâ reliance on their CIOs remains strong.

Midmarket companies are just as dependent on information technology as organizations several times their size. That makes today's midtier CIO a crucial member of the executive team.

More than big corporations with large IT staffs, these companies require the CIO to play a hands-on role in designing and running the IT infrastructure. That requires midmarket CIOs to possess critical IT skills, while placing less of a premium on business skills. Most CIOs at big and small companies alike tend to be career IT professionals with a strong project management background.

However, most midmarket CIOs don't have MBAs, and are more likely to have experience as IT architects. This operations- and technology-focused role in smaller companies leaves plenty of room for influence, even if these CIOs are less focused on strategy: Most midmarket CIOs report to the CEO and participate in business decisions as much or more frequently than CIOs at big companies.

What's missing for small-business CIOs? The bigger salaries of their Fortune 1000 counterparts.